Introduction of fees for retail plastic bags from January 2018 / Ban on thin plastic bags

TPF president Mustafa Altunbilek (middle) announced the new fee for plastic bags in the Turkish retail sector (Photo: TPF)

In line with many western European countries, Turkey is introducing fees for reusable plastic shopping bags in stores and supermarkets, to be implemented at the beginning of 2018. At the same time, lightweight plastic bags, such as those used for fresh fruits and vegetables, will be largely phased out. This was recently announced by the Turkish retailers' association, Türkiye Perakendeciler Federasyonu (TPF, Istanbul; www.tpf.com.tr). It was not disclosed how high the fee will be.

Mustafa Altunbilek, TPF president and head of the trading chain of the same name, explained that this measure would fulfil the waste guidelines of the government's Ministry of the Environment and Urban Planning (CSB; www.csb.gov.tr). At the same time, cloth bags and cardboard boxes are planned to be given out free of charge for the transition period up until January 2018, so that customers become familiarised with the changes.

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